722 Remington re-chamber from .222 to .223

[KimberRich]

I've got a 722 rechambered from .222 to .223 and am wondering about the accuracy of the gun due to barrel twist rates.  I've read a bunch of things on ideal twist rates for the .223 and have heard everything from 1:9 - 1:14 are ideal.  The 722 .222 had a 1:12 rate and I'm getting decent groups out of it but nothing spectacular.  I've only shot factory ammo out of it to date and that's what I intend to shoot out of it as it's affordable. 

Is the twist rate that critical in the performance of the gun vs. the load I'm shooting?  Of course different loads will perform differently in every gun but I'm wondering if I should lower my accuracy standards due to twist rate issues.  I think that sub 1" groups @ 100 should be easily obtained but I'm not seeing them.  I've got a VX-II 4-12 on it currently. 

I'm new to the .223 but know it's one of the most studied rounds out there. 

What do you guys think?  Thanks.

[FC]

Shoot light bullets in the 35-45gr range, they will work better with the slower twist rate and yes twist vs weight (length) is very critical. Assuming bore and crown are both good I would think the rifle would group better than what you are seeing.

[fishnate]

http://www.shilen.com/calibersAndTwists.html

This might help.

[AWS]

Instead of Rechamberring a classic old rifle with a very good chance of it not shooting any better I would look into a Rem take off barrel in 223 (all 700, Model 7 and 600/660 fit) and have it fitted.  That way you can always put the old barrel on or sell it as an original .   I did that with my 722 300Savage, I put a 22-250 barrel from a Rem LVSF on it.  If you do this be sure you tell the smith that you want to be able to return it to original.

AWS

[KimberRich]

Instead of Rechamberring a classic old rifle with a very good chance of it not shooting any better I would look into a Rem take off barrel in 223 (all 700, Model 7 and 600/660 fit) and have it fitted.  That way you can always put the old barrel on or sell it as an original .   I did that with my 722 300Savage, I put a 22-250 barrel from a Rem LVSF on it.  If you do this be sure you tell the smith that you want to be able to return it to original.

AWS

It was already rechambered to .223 when I bought it.  I've got another nice 722 in .222 in the back of the safe somewhere and I agree with you on not rechambering a nice old gun like that but I got this one in .223 for a deal and in my opinion the 722 action is great so I picked it up.  I don't think the goal of the rechambering was for it to shoot better it was to just shoot it cheaper..  Not sure exactly. 

[AWS]

Sorry I miss read the post.  I have a couple of slow twist barrels and they like shorter bullets.  The length of the bullet is the determining factor conserning bullet stabalization.  In some of my slow twist rifles a long bullet like a 50gr Vmax or NBT will not shoot very accurately but a short bullet like a 52gr flatebase Speer shoots very well.  I would try some lighter flat base 50-55gr or something like a 40gr NBT. 

AWS